Campaign group celebrate as sale of Shay Stadium halted
Huddersfield Giants' Ken Davy pulled out of the purchase on Monday
Hello and welcome to The Calderdale Lead.
I hope you’re all well and didn’t miss me too much - as expected it was nigh on impossible to connect to anything resembling Wi-Fi whilst away!
But we’re back now and all will be fine.
In today’s edition, my LDR colleague John Greenwood has the latest from the Friends of the Shay group after the sale of the stadium was halted.
Buyer Ken Davy - he of Huddersfield Giants fame - has decided to pull the plug on the purchase while the new Reform UK-led council has said any sale is ‘halted’.
Full details of the latest in the long-running saga are below!
Plus, we’ve got a couple of nuggets in the Calderdale Digest…
Calderdale Digest
🚨A former West Yorkshire Police officer is due to appear in court after being charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and other offences.
Michael Meade, aged 41, who was a PC based in Calderdale District prior to his resignation, has been charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, theft and two counts of unauthorised access to policing systems contrary to the Computer Misuse Act 1990.
He is due to appear at Bradford Magistrates’ Court today.
The charges follow an investigation by West Yorkshire Police Counter Corruption Unit under the direction of the Independent Office for Police Conduct into allegations of failure to investigate a road traffic incident, theft and misuse of police systems to access restricted information. The offences are reported to have been committed between January 2022 and May 2023.
💷 Groups working to make their neighbourhoods safer could benefit from thousands of pounds worth of funding thanks to West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin.
The latest round of the Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund is now open, giving groups and organisations the opportunity to receive a share of £350,000.
The fund takes money recovered from criminals and reinvests it into local organisations and projects working to make the region safer.
Funding can support a wide range of activity, including work with young people through arts and sport, support for survivors of abuse, and initiatives that help reduce reoffending or improve community wellbeing.
To date £4.9M has been awarded to 505 projects through the Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund and the People’s Fund.
Ms Brabin said: “I have promised to make West Yorkshire safer and fairer, and we are backing the people working on the ground to make that happen.
“By taking money from criminals and putting it straight into projects that prevent crime, we’re supporting victims and providing opportunities to those who need them most.
“From helping young people to thrive to strengthening community wellbeing, we’re delivering real change and creating safer places across West Yorkshire”
Campaign group ‘relieved’ after Shay Stadium buyer pulls out
By John Greenwood
The campaign group fighting to stop the controversial sale of Halifax’s Shay Stadium say they are relieved the deal has been halted.
Friends of the Shay had begun a legal path to try and halt sale of Halifax’s Shay Stadium to owner of Huddersfield Giants rugby league club Ken Davy – and are not yet letting down their guard.
On Monday, Mr Davy announced he had decided to not progress the deal and Calderdale Council’s new Reform UK ruling group said the current plans for selling The Shay had been “halted.”
The Friends group had begun legal proceedings against the council, seeking a Judicial Review into the sale of the stadium – home to football’s FC Halifax Town and rugby league’s Halifax Panthers, instead promoting community stewardship.
A decision to dispose of The Shay was taken by the then ruling group Labour cabinet two years ago, later endorsed by the full Calderdale Council passing the budget including the saving, to help balance the books in difficult financial times.
The decision has been controversial, particularly after months of talks involving the two clubs were stalled, and Mr Davy came in with an offer to but the stadium, respective leagues saying all three clubs could play there.
Friends of the Shay were among those concerned what might happen if r Davy had bought and then decided to sell The Shay estate further down the line and have indicated they are more relieved than in celebratory mood at Mr Davy’s decision not to progress with his bid.
Referring to the sale process as “deeply flawed” the group indicated their feeling is one of relief as it has happened before “irreversible damage was done.”
But the group, able to fund a specialised legal team with the help of some crowdfunding, are not completely dropping their guard yet, they say.
“Because we only recently issued our formal pre-action protocol letter, the withdrawal of the front-running bidder and the cabinet’s decision to halt the sale completely changes the landscape.
“If the council formally rescinds the original disposal decision, the immediate necessity for a Judicial Review drops away,” they say.
But the Friends say they need to see the precise outcome of the Cabinet’s review to ensure any future plans permanently safeguard community ownership.
They have indicated they are not interested in pursuing costs against the council as recovering pre-action costs from a local authority is legally complex and also because it is local people’s money – “something which the council should have reflected on when trying to intimidate us through their own legal representatives,” they say.
Friends say: “The withdrawal by Mr. Davy is not the end of the story.
“The Shay remains a public asset.
“We now need genuine engagement to find the most defensible and sustainable outcome, and we stand ready to work constructively with the new administration and both clubs to build that future.”
The Friends have also addressed on the group’s Substack page comments by Mr Davy yesterday that one of the reasons he had decided not to progress the sale deal is because of a “small minority” of opponents.
Friends say: “Whilst Friends of the Shay, a small campaign group, have actively opposed the council’s plans, we have seen fans divided on whether this deal is good for the town.
“Some have expressed at best a begrudging acceptance.
“The football club have remained tight-lipped, so we don’t actually know what they really think and the newly reformed rugby league club include board members who have been vocal on social media in opposing the sale to Mr Davy.”
The group says that on evidence of their own polling on ownership models, only one person in 20 favoured selling to a private buyer.
“Painting a picture of almost universal support doesn’t feel to be an accurate reflection of the reality we have witnessed,” they say.
The group says it is perhaps more significant that Mr Davy’s withdrawal coincides with a sharpened legal challenge that has prompted the council to pause the disposal.
“We know the points raised in this challenge can’t be overlooked or reverse engineered.
“They would require a full reset which would add significant time to the disposal of the ground and create increased scrutiny,” they say.
The group say they have offered thinking anchored around widening the use of the Stadium and making it a community hub.
On Mr Davy’s statement that he might still look at renting The Shay, the group believes it is a viable option in the short term proving the some income providing there is a condition that permanent tenants have priority usage.
“It is of course much more favourable, and logical, than disposing of the freehold to an out of town team who have become voluntarily homeless and are looking for a temporary stadium,” said the Friends.
That’s it for this edition, thanks for reading.
I’ll be back on Sunday with another edition so keep your eyes peeled for that!
Until then, enjoy your week!
Andrew